Minutes of the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board Meeting
19 May 1995
Ohio Historical Center

Board members present: Gary Ness, George Parkinson, George Bain, Roland Baumann, Jonathan Dembo, Dennis Harrison, Michael Lucas, James Oda, Carol Tomer

Board members absent: Alice Cornell, Barbara Floyd

Staff members present: William Myers, Elizabeth Nelson

Also present: Mary Bowman, Julie McMaster, Steven Nowak

George Parkinson called the meeting to order at 9:58 a.m. and directed the board's attention to the agenda. Gary Ness announced that Governor Voinovich has not yet acted on the reappointments to the board now pending. Dr. Ness also reported on the status of the society's request for operating subsidies in the upcoming biennium and stated his feeling that the board should not take an official position on the controversy regarding the United States Archivist. Ness also related a compromise measure proposed in the United States House of Representatives to re-authorize the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities for three years, at the end of which time they would be shut down. Members of the board discussed their views of the nomination of John Carlin for Archivist of the United States.

Carol Tomer's name was omitted from the list of board members present at the last board meeting. James Oda moved to adopt the minutes as amended to include Tomer's name. Roland Baumann seconded the motion, and the board voted unanimously to adopt the minutes.

George Parkinson announced that The Ohio 2003 Plan has been printed together with To Outwit Time: Preserving Materials in Ohio's Libraries and Archives, and distributed copies of the publication to the board members. Copies will be mailed to repositories, historical societies, museums, lawmakers, and beneficiary groups throughout the state.

Mary Bowman reported that fewer people that usual attended the annual meeting of the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS) in Toledo in April, but that the meeting was a success. Barbara Floyd attended the meeting and distributed the board's plan. The OGS board confirmed its interest in working with the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board to preserve historical records and improve records programs. George Parkinson expressed his appreciation of Mary Bowman's "President's Message" in the March 1995 issue of the OGS Newsletter, which explained the potential consequences of House Bill 46. This bill would require custodians of public records to make copies of the records at 25 cents per page, impose a fine of $225 per day on custodians who do not produce the documents in a "reasonable time," and prohibit routine registration for security reasons of users of public records.

George Bain informed the board that plans for Archives Week in October 1995 are progressing. This year's theme, "Letters Home: Documenting World War II in the Archives," ties in with the board's regrant project "Homefront and Battlefront: Ohioans Serve the Nation." Roland Baumann suggested that the Society of Ohio Archivists consider running an article in the Ohio Historical Society's Timeline magazine. Gary Ness mentioned a Statehouse project to solicit wartime letters, and asked whether other board members were aware of the project.

Julie McMaster and Steve Nowak from the Toledo Museum of Art met with the board to discuss the grant proposal "Archives and Records Management at the Toledo Museum of Art," which NHPRC failed to fund during the last grant cycle. The museum intends to resubmit the proposal in October. McMaster and Nowak described the project and the developments which have occurred since the grant was submitted in October 1994. Board members asked questions and made suggestions on ways the proposal might be improved.

After a lunch break, the board discussed its regrant project. George Parkinson thanked Jonathan Dembo for writing a rough draft of the proposal. A brief history of each war and descriptions of some of the best collections from around the state will be added to the draft proposal. The board members present agreed to send descriptions of their institutions' best military collections to be included. In addition, the board agreed that the proposal needs to make a stronger case for why the project should be funded. Suggestions included: emphasizing the national significance of the records, clarifying the focus on social history, and providing more examples of potential projects.

A brief discussion of the Ohio Historical Society's proposal, "Establishing the Ohio Electronic Records Archives," followed. The project will establish an electronic records program at the State Archives, and will work with the Ohio Department of Education and the Department of Health's Bureau of Vital Statistics to make their electronic records available through the State Archives. The proposal is due in Washington on 1 June 1995.

George Parkinson brought the board up to date on the society's library automation project which began in April. Staff have begun to catalog the State Archives and to make series descriptions available on OCLC.

Mary Bowman announced that a joint conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the Ohio Genealogical Society will be held in 1998 in Cincinnati. Fifteen hundred to two thousand people are expected to attend.

Dennis Harrison reported that the 11 August 1995 board meeting will be held in the main administration building at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland at 11:00 am. The board will have a picnic with the Cleveland Archival Roundtable (CAR) and attend a CAR meeting. At that meeting, the board will also publicize its regrant project in some manner. Harrison, Baumann, and Tomer agreed to make local arrangements for the meeting and to distribute a timetable by the end of May.

Roland Baumann moved to adjourn at 1:53 pm. Jim Oda seconded the motion, and the meeting adjourned.